There was a "promising start" to the first Smithfield horse fair to be organised under new bylaws, chair of the Dublin City Council fair committee said today.
Fine Gael councillor Gerry Breen said today's fair attracted some 1,000 attendees. More needed to be done to attract more horses for the next fair to be held in September, he said.
“I would like to compliment the Smithfield Horse Owners group for the positive engagement with the organisation of the fair. Hopefully we can make the fair on the first Sunday in September even more successful,” he said.
Dublin City Council says the new laws passed at a council meeting in January will ensure "the orderly running and management of the horse fair, the safety of all persons attending and the welfare of animals".
The council has for years sought the closure of the market which has been condemned by the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA), but has been blocked by an ancient market right of horse traders to hold their sales on the land.
Problems with the market, which is held on the Smithfield Plaza surrounded by apartment blocks and busy roads, came to a head in March last year when two men were shot and another was injured with a slash hook.
With licences costing €10 per horse just 49 were bought ahead of today's fair.
The new fair will now be held just twice a year, from 9am to 1.30pm on the first Sunday of March and September, postponed to the second Sunday on bank holiday weekends.